1,721,043 research outputs found
Polveri contenenti SLC nello scavo e nelle demolizioni : monitoraggio e strategie di riduzione delle emissioni
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Environmental and biological monitoring in the plating industry
No full textThe work environment in the electroplating industry is characterized by a large amount of chemical substances used in the production process. The present work is a brief review of the time evolution of methods and strategies for the assessment of exposures to chromium and nickel by means of environmental and biological monitoring
Personal exposure to airborne ultrafine particles in the urban area of Milan
Full text linkThe relevance of health effects related to ultrafine particles (UFPs; aerodynamic diameter < 100 nm) can be better evaluated using high-resolution strategies for measuring particle number concentrations. In this study, two different portable Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs) were used to measure personal exposure to UFPs in the central area of Milan for one week period during spring, with three sampling sessions per day. Experimental data were continuously collected along an established urban pathway, moving afoot or by different private and public means of transport. Correlation analysis between data measured by two CPCs was performed and general results showed a good agreement, especially at concentrations lower than 2×105 particles /cm3. UFPs measures were divided on the basis of crossed environments or micro-environments, days of the week and day time (hours). The highest measured mean concentrations and data variability were observed during walking time and moving on motorized vehicles (bus and car), indicating that the highest exposure to UFPs can be reached near motorized traffic. The lowest exposures were observed in green areas and in office microenvironments. An appreciable difference between working and non-working days was observed. Concentration patterns and variation by days of the week and time periods appears related to time trends in traffic intensity
Qualità dell'aria degli ambienti confinati non industriali : indicazioni per la valutazione del rischio e la sorveglianza sanitaria
No full textQuesto lavoro presenta indicazioni per la
programmazione delle attività di valutazione dei rischi e di sorveglianza sanitaria negli ambienti confinati non industriali.
Lo studio della qualità dell’aria degli ambienti indoor prevede: la raccolta delle necessarie informazioni propedeutiche alle
indagini ambientali; strategie e tecniche di campionamento dei principali inquinanti considerati quali particolato, CO2 e CO,
NOx, composti organici volatili, agenti biologici; analisi quantitative e qualitative. Il programma di sorveglianza sanitaria si articola su quattro linee di lavoro: la sorveglianza
sanitaria periodica, quando già prevista per altri rischi (es. VDT); l’approfondimento clinico in occasione di eventi particolari; l’uso di un questionario per la valutazione dello
stato di comfort dei lavoratori; attività di promozione della salute. È raccomandata una stretta collaborazione tra personale tecnico e medico sia nelle attività di valutazione dei
rischi che per la risoluzione di particolari problemi di origine indoor
Quantification of asbestos and other mineral phase burden in necroscopic human lung tissues with a new method
Full text linkBackground: A large amount of studies on asbestos exposure reconstruction have been so far conducted digesting the lung tissues with appropriate reagents, separating the powder from the digestion liquid by filtration and analysing the residue by optical or electron microscopy. This analytical approach has good sensitivity but is not yet well standardized, the investigated portion is not representative of the bulk sample, the results are often characterized by lack of reproducibility and repeatability. Moreover, the numeric quantification of asbestos requires a time-consuming particle by particle analysis.
Aim: to develop a new method for the complete quantitative characterization of asbestos and other mineral phases in human lung tissue.
Methods: The new method is based on sodium hypochlorite digestion, separation and XRPD analysis. The XRPD approach needs moderate lung tissue amounts (at least 20 g of wet tissue), but allows to conduct a complete quantitative characterization of each crystalline phase in the sample giving bulk-representative results with good reproducibility, accuracy and precision. The detection limit of conventional XRPD was considerably improved by a novel instrumental setting and weight concentrations can be obtained, giving additional information to numeric ones, preferable in clinical and pathogenetic studies but probably not for the exposure reconstruction.
Results: Among the analysed autoptic lung tissues, ten samples belonged to subjects occupationally exposed to asbestos and six were collected from urban area controls. Asbestos phases were detected in none of controls and in 5 of 10 occupationally exposed subjects (those with highest exposure history) indicating that this method is suitable for the reconstruction of medium and high asbestos exposures. It has been furthermore confirmed the mineral association found in previous studies: mainly composed by quartz, talc, clay minerals, micas, Fe-Al-Ti oxides and bio-minerals such Ca-phosphates, carbonates and oxalates
Personal exposure of traffic policemen to carbon monoxide in the city of Milan : time-activity analysis
No full textObjectives: to quantify the contributions of working activities to the total CO exposure of traffic policemen during the work shift and to assess exposure during different periods of the day.Methods: The exposure of 130 traffic wardens working in the city of Milan was assessed in 4 seasonal campaigns performed in 8 of the 15 city headquarters (2 shifts per day). CO concentrations were continuously measured in the breathing
zone by passive analyzers programmed with a sampling frequency of 1 min. A
time-activity diary with a 20-min time resolution was manually completed by subjects. Details on indoor or outdoor environments, job activities (traffic warding at crossings, surveillance near schools or crossroads, fining in parking zones, drawing up minutes at office), movements (on foot or by means of transport) and smoking (n° cigarettes) were collected.
Results: On average, the highest personal exposure to CO was found in the
autumnal and winter sessions. The highest median personal exposure to CO was reached in the early morning (08.00-08.59) and late afternoon (18.00-18.59),
while start and end of work shifts corresponded to the lowest levels of exposure to CO. Among smokers, weak positive correlations were found between personal exposure to CO and number of cigarettes smoked during the work shift. The occupational activities that occupied most of working time were traffic guarding and time spent in office. Traffic guarding, characterized by a mean CO concentration of 3.50 ppm, produced the highest cumulative exposure to CO,compared with a mean value of 2.41 ppm measured during office activities. Conclusion: As expected, some occupational activities affected the exposure to CO of traffic wardens owing to the proximity to the emission sources. The exposure to CO was also related to automotive traffic density, which produced the highest personal concentrations in the early morning and late afternoo
Analisi diffrattometrica della dose cumulativa di asbesto ed altre fasi minerali nei tessuti polmonari umani
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